Grocery Store NY Strip Steaks, Ranked Worst To Best

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There isn't a better night in my household than when steaks are on the menu for dinner. The cut of steak you choose can really depend on personal preference, but I've always been partial to the New York strip. It's my dad's favorite cut, so it's the one I have the most familiarity with. (Nostalgia isn't for nothing, either.) And while some detractors wonder what the fuss is about with a strip steak, plenty of people get the hype. It's sometimes called the "Goldilocks of steaks": It's got a good chew without being too tough, it can have great marbling without being overrun by fat content, and it can have terrific beef flavor without breaking the bank.

Among the things you need to know about the New York strip is that it can actually go by a lot of names. If you're shopping in the supermarket for this cut, you might see it labeled as an ambassador steak, strip loin steak, or even named for other locations, like the Kansas City or Omaha strip.

Steaks of any kind fall into the "special occasion" part of my budget these days, which means when I have them, I want the best that money can buy. I selected NY strips from a variety of regional and national supermarkets to find which ones have the best taste and overall quality. Surprisingly, the most expensive ones didn't always land at the top of the list.

With just one exception, all of the steaks I bought to test and rank were vacuum sealed. That's necessary for the Pre brand, which distributes grass-fed and grass-finished steaks to grocery stores across the majority of the United States, including to chains like Giant, Safeway, Meijer, Jewel-Osco, and more.

I was genuinely excited to try this version of the NY strip. The brand's marketing is on point and I was impressed with the company's commitment to environmental sustainability and open grazing. However, the end result was underwhelming compared to other steaks my family tried.

The steak was well trimmed, but didn't have the same interior marbling as some of our favorite cuts. It was also one of the smallest steaks in the lineup, at just ¾-inch thickness and about 10 ounces. (Average NY strips fall more in the 12 to 16-ounce range, and are typically about an inch thick.)

The biggest drawbacks to this cut were the price and overall flavor. One steak cost $14.99, or $24.18 per pound. That was at the upper end of the spectrum for the ones I tried, and the flavor wasn't as fresh compared to others — even those that were vacuum sealed in a similar manner. There was less marbling than in other steaks, which also resulted in a tougher steak.

This New York strip steak sold at my local Whole Foods takes great pains to describe its merits for landing on your dinner table. It's all organic, 100% grass fed and finished beef. The cut also originates from free range cattle that are humanely raised.

All of that is terrific, and I could see a difference in the overall appearance of the steak before it was cooked. It had the deepest red color of any I'd seen, almost more reminiscent of venison than typical beef steaks. But all that said, the steak was very lean, and became tough after grilling with similarly-sized steaks. (This one was only an inch thick and just 8 ounces, so by far the smallest I bought.) If I had treated this more like a filet and basted it with fat in a cast iron pan, the results might have been better.

That wasn't the only problem, though. I was also thrown by the grassy flavor of the beef and the minerality in the profile. You could make a case that these are good qualities for a steak to have, and maybe you'd be right. But I was missing the quintessential steakhouse flavor in this particular cut, and across the board it was one of the least favorite options my family tried. At $15.49 for one steak (a whopping $30.98/lb) it was also the most expensive one.

Rastelli's began as a neighborhood butcher shop in New Jersey in 1976, and is now celebrating 50 years of being "America's personal butcher." The family-owned business ships hand-cut steaks, seafood, burgers, and more, directly to customers — or you can find Rastelli's products in your local supermarket, at Costco, and even through Amazon.

I was curious to see if a larger brand that clearly specializes in shipping steaks could deliver on quality flavor and texture. I was initially skeptical. The strip steak was just an inch thick and 10 ounces, and the marbling wasn't as good as some others that ranked higher on this list. For the size, the price was also higher. I paid $12.99, or $20.62 per pound.

That said, the steak had a pleasant texture after it was grilled and rested. It had a good chew factor without being mushy or becoming too tough. It also had a solid beefy flavor that didn't have any metallic aftertaste or off-putting flavors from being vacuum sealed. It tasted fresh, and while it didn't have quite the same tenderness as others higher on the list, it was a solid offering. This is a reasonable size and price for someone who just wants a steak for dinner, but it's not necessarily going to provide a wow factor at the table.

Angus beef is a special distinction for cows that trace their lineage to Angus cows from Scotland, known for their superior flavor and tenderness. Giant's store brand of steaks is missing the "certified" Angus label, meaning it likely falls more into the marketing side of Angus titling. All the same, the steak had good fat marbling throughout, was about 1 ¼ inches thick, and was a fairly even width from one end to the other — all good signs of a quality NY strip. I did need to pick off one glob of gristle that was hanging on the side of the steak before cooking it — perhaps an unwelcome carryover from the trimming process.

Giant's steak was more tender than previous steaks on this list and had a decent beefy flavor, amplified by the ribbons of fat marbled throughout. This version had a bit more gristle to contend with than the leaner cuts before it. My husband didn't mind, and I just cut it away from the steak. My only qualm and the reason it's lower than other house brands of supermarket steaks was the hint of a metallic aftertaste. The steak tasted fresh overall, but had just a bit more minerality than others higher on the list. At $19.99 per pound and a total of $20.19, it fell in the middle of the pack in terms of price.

I haven't tried Aldi's Black Angus steaks before, and was admittedly a tad skeptical. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality and flavor of the NY strip I bought. You can find a lot of high quality groceries in Aldi's aisles, and I'll consider purchasing steaks from the grocer again after this taste test. First, the steaks were cut well. Each one averaged about 16 ounces and was almost 1 ½ inches thick. One end came more to a point than the top two options on this list, but because of its overall size and generous marbling, it held up extremely well on the grill.

The meat was flavorful and fresh, with a robust beefy flavor from those fat deposits in the steak. There were some areas that had a touch more gristle than the others — if this bothers you, you can easily cut around it and enjoy the rest. While I'm not a huge fan of those fattier areas myself, that fat content lent a supreme tenderness and flavor profile to each bite. My only small complaint was a touch of oxidation on the side of the steak touching the plastic, but it didn't impact the flavor at all.

True to its reputation, Aldi's steak price was the lowest of the bunch, at $13.79 per pound. With the generous sizing I paid $14.62 for one steak, which was a great deal for the flavor and quality.

The internet runs amok with the debate about Costco steaks. Some people swear they're the best money can buy — including former butchers who say the volume Costco sells allows it to dictate the quality and prices it can lock in from suppliers. Others say there are better deals to be had. But regardless of where you fall in the debate, you have to agree that Costco sells some showstopper steaks. In my experience, it also happened to be one of the best steaks in my area.

New York strips are known as some of the best steaks you can purchase at Costco, and it was easy to see why when I bought mine. My four-pack had steaks that were almost 1 ¾ inches thick, with fairly even widths throughout. The marbling was slightly less than stores like Aldi, but the steak made up for it in freshness. It was a brighter red than any of the others — likely because it had been cut literally an hour or two before I bought it.

For what it's worth, my husband preferred Aldi's steak over Costco's because Aldi's had larger fat deposits. I thought Costco's was just as flavorful and tender without all the extra gristle, and it had superior freshness that moved it up a spot in my book. If you can afford the bulk pricing, the unit price of $13.99 per pound was also the second cheapest on the list.

I suppose it shouldn't be shocking that the grocery store that is consistently named the top supermarket in the country by Consumer Reports sells some truly superior steaks. The truth is that Wegmans routinely tops lists for fresh produce, highly ranked cheesecakes and desserts, and more. After this taste test, the same can be said of its New York strip.

The steak from Wegmans stood out from the start. It was uniform in width and had superior marbling to every other steak. Off the grill, that translated to an incredibly tender, juicy steak with a hearty beef flavor. If you're cooking for a special occasion and Wegmans is in your vicinity, it's worth the purchase. You also won't really break the bank to make it happen. This cut was $14.99 per pound, which fell in the middle of the pack in terms of price. Each one was about 16 ounces, and I paid $14.24 for a single steak. This version was center cut, ensuring a more even width, but the end cuts are even cheaper.

The steak I chose was vacuum-packed like almost every other cut on this list, but it was extremely fresh and had a tender texture with a good bite. Wegmans offers more premium versions of a New York strip at its service counter, but for the price and overall flavor of this affordable option, you can have a steakhouse-worthy meal at a fraction of the price.

To taste and rank New York strip steaks from the grocery store, I selected steaks that were readily available from supermarkets in my local area. All of the steaks were classified as Choice cuts, the USDA's method for grading how marbled (and likely tender) beef is. With the exception of Costco's steaks that are only packaged on trays with plastic wrap over top, the steaks were vacuum sealed.

To prepare the steaks, I set them on the counter, patted them dry, and salted them for 30 minutes before grilling them over high heat — tips from a chef for the best way to cook a steak. I grilled the steaks sorted by thickness and temped them with an instant thermometer to a few degrees lower than medium-rare, then allowed them to rest to finish the residual cooking. I taste-tested each steak with my family and evaluated it for tenderness and overall flavor. While those factors were the most important, I also included components like value and appearance in the final rankings.